.TS to MKV - What makes this conversion so difficult?

[[_chef_]]

Does anyone know why MKVs of broadcast TV always seem to have the original AC3 5.1 recoded to AC3 2.0 at the same bit rate?

Is there a technical reason that makes it difficult to preserve the original audio?

You should ask those who release(d) such stuff.

Logically the original came as AC2.0 and not 5.1 and even they'd come with 5.1 then they'd choose AC2.0 to save some space, as always.
In fact, even if its marked as 5.1 its 2.0 in reality!!

[dioxholster]

I want to create a mkv file out of .ts without re-encoding anything, but there are so many tools mentioned here, I only familar with the old ones like tsMuxer, are the new ones better?

[[_chef_]]

Nope!

[barleysinger]

As far as I can tell (my opinin here) the primary problem with the users (that would be us) managing to get usable high quality video with working subtitles, out of streamed digital TV video feeds that are saved to a PVR device (converted files from .ts) is the very same PRIMARY PROBLEM that gets us annoyed in so many other ways with home entertainment devices.

The people in development and those in management haven't a clue what they are doing most of the time (in regards to the rest of the worlds advances in tech) and they try to pretend that their devices do not need to use exising computer standards, or ACT like the computer devices that they actually are.

How long did APPLE have various types of media servers (and apple TV etc) before anybody else did *JACK* in the area? Well over a decade.

For a long time the people who work in consumer entertainment device design and manufacture, have been off in their own little world, utterly ignoring the computer revolution, and when they DID admit it was there they did things that were really seriously stupid and backward thinking. As a result, the world of television and media devices, has been DRAGGED (kicking and screaming) forward by people making new computer devices that use digital TV in various ways, merge it with the internet, and who watch videos on their computer networks.

Those in charge have essentially (until a few years ago) been asleep at the switch for decades, totally ignoring the direction the world is moving, and in so doing, pissing off a lot of people in the process.

*** FOR INSTANCE ***

Why do we not have wireless remotes that use a normal standard like "bluetooth", or anything with the equivelent of a MAC address so that my remotes do not "cross talk" to other devices that take instruction via a remote control? My DVD ought not eject the disk when I change channels on my Sat box. Not in 2013. The people in charge have essentially ignored the reality of what entire computer revolution MEANS in what their tech COULD be doing. Until very recently (in terms of the computer revolution) the were just pretending that their televisions were not the computer equipment that everyone else KNEW that they were. They really ought to use existing computer standards and have not been off in the corner patting themselves on the back in THEIR little world, constantly acting like nothing they make needs to be compatible with anything else.

Had they been better at their jobs we all would be about 15 years further along. Overall there is a lack of vision, good design and good management, and even with the new 3D standards they are still broadcasting digital TV signals with the subtitles in ??GRAPHICS?? instead of using a simple (and far smaller) unicode text stream or equivalent (which is nuts).

There just seems to be a lack of creative and forward thinking in the engineers AND MANAGERS in the home entertainment/media equipment businesses.

Long ago we ought to have had remote controls (for our 5 to 10 to 15 media devices which are *ALL* in the same room) which should have
unique ID stamps, use existing network standards for the communication, and not require that I cover up the front of 4 MEDIA devices when I want to use one remote control without screwing up the other things that are currently recording. Yet here we are in 2013 and it still isn't there.

Essentially the people in charge are not the bright when it comes to using existing standards, and it has only been the last 5 to 7 years where they have started to wake up a little.

I (personally.. this is me here) as a long time I.T. guy, would have been ashamed of the idea of giving my boss (and the world) a digital TV standard that did not handle the subtitles as a seperate simple unicode (or equivelent) file, which the DEVICE or PROGRAM displaying the video, had the job of rendering. Hard coding them as graphics is just nuts. It is about as sensible as making all of the TEXT MARKUP on a web page out of graphics.

All of this is why we still (in our home filled with computers and many PVR devices) have an old Panasonic VCR in the house, and most of our stuff is on VHS, because the necessary techy elements needed for transferring a .ts file to DVD or BLUERAY, seamlessly and easily, withe the subtitles intact and not hard coded as GRAPHICS, JUST IS NOT THERE.